| THE BASICS |
SCORE: UNC Pembroke 45, West Virginia State 24
RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 4-3, 4-2 MEC; West Virginia State 4-3, 3-3 MEC
LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Grace P. Johnson Stadium) |
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| HOW IT HAPPENED |
| 1ST QUARTER |
The Braves put together a fast-moving 6-play, 65-yard scoring drive to open the game, and took the lead for good on a 6-yard scoring scamper from Josh Jones that culminated the possession. UNCP put three plays of 15 or more yards on the possession, including a 20-yard rush from Jones that moved the hosts into the red zone. UNCP 7, WVSU 0
UNCP used its special teams to add to its lead later in the first period when a bad snap on a 4th-down punt attempt ricocheted off punter Brennen Schmitt and into the hands of Braylon Fowler who jetted into the end zone from 10 yards away. UNCP 14, WVSU 0
Donovan Riddick engineered a 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive on the ensuing possession to get the Yellow Jackets back into the game. Riddick galloped for 19 yards on the second play of the drive to move the visitors to midfield, and found Keedrick Cunningham on a key third down conversion later in the drive, before Joe Jones punched it in from one yard away. UNCP 14, WVSU 7
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| 2ND QUARTER |
UNCP bridged the first and second quarters with a 6-play, 61-yard drive that pushed the lead back out to two touchdowns. Josh Jones completed all three of his pass attempts for 46 yards on the possession, and closed out the scoring drive with an 11-yard touchdown run through traffic. UNCP 21, WVSU 7
West Virginia State joined the non-offensive scoring party a few minutes later when Avery Scott stepped in front of a third-down pass attempt from Josh Jones and sprinted 20 yards down the far sideline for a touchdown. UNCP 21, WVSU 14
The Braves righted the ship on the ensuing possession, driving 68 yards in just seven plays to make it a two-score game once again. JaQuan Kelly handled a bulk of the load on the drive, rushing for 51 yards on five carries, including a 2-yard touchdown dive that finished off the possession. UNCP 28, WVSU 14
West Virginia State answered the call once again on the ensuing possession as Donovan Riddick was the main player in a 10-play, 74-yard touchdown drive. Riddick threw for 33 yards on 4-of-5 passing on the drive, while also registering a key 12-yard run early. His 7-yard touchdown pass to Liam Reid culminated the drive. UNCP 28, WVSU 21
The Braves would put the final points of the first half on the board, driving all the way down to the 15-yard line before settling for a 32-yard field goal from Alex Alvarado. Zechariah Adams-Duckson logged a 14-yard catch early in the possession, and Rodney Smith caught a 19-yard pass from Josh Jones two plays later, to highlight the drive. UNCP 31, WVSU 21
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| 3RD QUARTER |
West Virginia State used the opening possession for either team in the second half to put what would be its final points on the scoreboard. Donovan Riddick completed all three of his pass attempts on the 12-play, 47-yard drive, but the Yellow Jackets would ultimately have to settle for a 45-yard field goal from Brennen Schmitt after the drive stalled just inside the 30-yard line. UNCP 31, WVSU 24
The Braves put the game out of reach on the following possession, driving 70 yards on just six plays. Josh Jones registered a 15-yard completion to Rodney Smith on a key third-down situation early in the possession, and Trey Dixon finished off the touchdown drive when he hauled in a pass from Jones and used his speed to race down the far sideline before diving into the end zone. UNCP 38, WVSU 24
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| 4TH QUARTER |
| The final possession of the night was just as good as the first for UNCP who eventually capped the scoring in the contest on Zechariah Adams-Duckson's 5-yard touchdown run. Adams-Duckson accounted for all but three yards on the 6-play, 22-yard possession. UNCP 45, WVSU 24 |
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| INSIDE THE BOX SCORE |
+ Senior Josh Jones accounted for 324 yards of total offense on the night, rushing 12 times for a career-best 90 yards, while also throwing for 234 yards and one touchdown on 16-of-21 passing. He moved atop the program's all-time touchdowns responsible for list with an 11-yard run early in the second quarter.
+ Redshirt junior Rodney Smith caught seven passes for 99 yards to pace the receiving corps on Thursday. Two of his seven receptions went for 21 or more yards.
+ Redshirt junior Branden Spencer logged multiple sacks (2) for the second time in three games to keep pace with line mate Tyreke King in the race for the program's single-season sacks record. King (8-1/2 sacks) and Spencer (7-1/2) are both within striking distance of the sacks mark (11) established by Mike Keck in 2015. |
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| NOTABLES |
+ UNCP totaled more than 450 yards of total offense for the second time this season in Thursday's victory. The Braves amassed 478 yards of total offense earlier this season in a 50-26 home win over West Virginia Wesleyan. UNCP racked up 290 yards of offense in the first half on Thursday, including 128 yards in the second quarter alone.
+ The Braves scored points on five of their six trips inside the red zone on Thursday, and were 8-of-15 on third-down conversion attempts. UNCP also scored points on five of its seven possessions in the first half, including four touchdowns.
+ West Virginia State fell to 0-5 all-time in the series with UNCP. The Braves have scored 44 or more points in all but one of the matchups with the Yellow Jackets, and have captured four of the five meetings by 21 or more points as well. Thursday's contest was the first series meeting in Pembroke since the 2015 campaign. |
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| UP NEXT |
| UNCP will get a short rest before resuming its 2022 slate on Thursday against West Virginia State (4-2, 3-2 MEC) on Robeson County Schools Night at Grace P. Johnson Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. |
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| STAY CONNECTED |
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| BACK THE BRAVES |
| Fans can help support the UNC Pembroke Football program by joining the Braves Club. To find out more information about the Braves Club, visit UNCPBraves.com/BravesClub or email braves.club@uncp.edu. |
